As I have mentioned in other posts, rehab has changed over the years. My first go around with cardiac rehab was in 1996 and it was pretty much a joke. They put a 3 wire monitor on and told you to go exercise on the treadmill and then on the stationary bike. That was it.
Now, it is a lot different. The hospital where I am attending my rehab is very small so the rehab program is not huge, but it is well run. There are two nurses who run the program. They develop an exercise prescription for each patient and modify it as the patient progresses. One of the nurses leads us through a 10 minute warm-up and checks on us as we exercise. The other nurse monitors the telemetry through out the session and a doctor stops in about half way through.
They monitor our weekly progress via METS and METS are described as:
* 1 MET is equivalent to a metabolic rate consuming 3.5 milliliters of oxygen per kilogram of body weight per minute.
* 1 MET is equivalent to a metabolic rate consuming 1 kilocalorie per kilogram of body weight per hour.
Here is a link to the definition: http://www.sizes.com/units/metequiv.htm
And here is a link to a description and a compendium of exercises and METS : http://prevention.sph.sc.edu/tools/compendium.htm
1 MET is about the equivalent to sitting still and growing moss.
My nurses told me that they try to get the patients to around 5 METs before the end of rehab. I get to see my chart each time I go in and I started to pay more attention to the METs, I am due to end my rehab in 2 weeks. The software they use shows that I am over 4 METs for the treadmill, 3.6 for the Sci-fit Rex and about 3.6 for the NuStep. I am asked them about that because I am not exerting myself as hard on the treadmill as I am on the other machines. We use the RPE scale and on the treadmill at 3 mph and 2 % elevation I am feel I am exerting about 12, but on the other 2 machines I am really pushing it and I feel that I am hitting over 13 on the scale.
If I am breathing a lot harder and sweating more then you think the METs would be higher. I am going to keep asking the nurses to explain the difference.
BTW, if you don't remember the scale, here is a chart - http://www.advancedhrm.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=85&Itemid=93&limitstart=3
Now, it is a lot different. The hospital where I am attending my rehab is very small so the rehab program is not huge, but it is well run. There are two nurses who run the program. They develop an exercise prescription for each patient and modify it as the patient progresses. One of the nurses leads us through a 10 minute warm-up and checks on us as we exercise. The other nurse monitors the telemetry through out the session and a doctor stops in about half way through.
They monitor our weekly progress via METS and METS are described as:
* 1 MET is equivalent to a metabolic rate consuming 3.5 milliliters of oxygen per kilogram of body weight per minute.
* 1 MET is equivalent to a metabolic rate consuming 1 kilocalorie per kilogram of body weight per hour.
Here is a link to the definition: http://www.sizes.com/units/metequiv.htm
And here is a link to a description and a compendium of exercises and METS : http://prevention.sph.sc.edu/tools/compendium.htm
1 MET is about the equivalent to sitting still and growing moss.
My nurses told me that they try to get the patients to around 5 METs before the end of rehab. I get to see my chart each time I go in and I started to pay more attention to the METs, I am due to end my rehab in 2 weeks. The software they use shows that I am over 4 METs for the treadmill, 3.6 for the Sci-fit Rex and about 3.6 for the NuStep. I am asked them about that because I am not exerting myself as hard on the treadmill as I am on the other machines. We use the RPE scale and on the treadmill at 3 mph and 2 % elevation I am feel I am exerting about 12, but on the other 2 machines I am really pushing it and I feel that I am hitting over 13 on the scale.
If I am breathing a lot harder and sweating more then you think the METs would be higher. I am going to keep asking the nurses to explain the difference.
BTW, if you don't remember the scale, here is a chart - http://www.advancedhrm.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=85&Itemid=93&limitstart=3